the organization's support for republican candidates for the 2022 midterm elections. than national law housing income coalition president and ceo, talks about the group's new report on how to reach housing for low income americans. watch c-span's washington journal live at 7:00 eastern on tuesday morning, and be sure to join the discussion with your phone calls, facebook comments, text messages and tweets. ♪ >> at the white house, president biden spoke about the state of the u.s. economy, including recent concerns about rising inflation. he also responded to questions about cyber threats in russia and china and the spread of misinformation on social media. pres. biden: good morning. sorry, to keep you waiting. i apologize. well, good morning.

tomorrow, marks six months since my administration began. i think it is a fitting moment to take a look at our economy, where we were six months ago, what we have achieved since then and -- i believe -- where we are headed. before i took office, there were a lot of folks out there making some pretty bold predictions about how things would turn out. you might remember some of the predictions. if i became president, we would enter a depression the likes of which we have never seen. while it is true that the economy was sputtering before i got here, and there were only -- adding only 60,000 jobs per month. but now, six months later, we have changed that. we have gone from 60,000 jobs per month to 60,000 jobs every three days. more than 600,000 jobs per month

since i took office and over 3 million new jobs all bold. i am told that at this point in any administration's history. another prediction that is my favorite one i might add is that if i got elected i would bring the end to capitalism. [laughter] i never understood that one but we have heard an awful lot. well, in six months and my administration, the a can -- the economy has expanded to the highest economic growth rate in nearly 40 years and we knew we needed to launch a wartime effort to get america vaccinated and pass a powerful american rescue plan. we did both of those things. and now, the forecasters have doubled their projections for growth this year of the economy to 7% or higher. in fact, the u.s. is the only developed country in the world where growth projections today

are stronger than they were before the pandemic hits. at the same time, companies across the country are giving workers a raise. an unusual thing. and the unemployment claims have been cut to more than half. -- a cornerstone of american capitalism. many noncompete clauses that suppressed workers raises, lowering the price of things like hearing aids, prescription drugs and internet service along with dozens of other actions. folks, it turns out capitalism is alive and very well. we are making serious progress to ensure that it works the way it is supposed to work for the good of the american people. to all of those predictions of doom and gloom six months in, here is where we stand. record growth. record job creation.

workers getting hard earned breaks. look, we have brought this economy back from the brink and we have designed the strategy -- but to lay the foundation for a long term boom that brings everyone along. that is why we designed the american rescue plan to help not just those that want but over a full year course or beyond. we can help businesses and small businesses through the ups and downs as the economy recovers. we saw a great example of that last week. for the first time, monthly payments began going out to nearly every working family raising a child in the united states of america. thanks to the expanded child tax credit in the american rescue plan, $300 a month going out for

each child under the age of six and $250 for every child 6-17. every month for the next six months with more coming in the spring. that money is a game changer. for some, it is a lifesaver. think of a single mom struggling to put food on the table each month. a parent has to tell their kid, i'm sorry, honey, but we cannot afford the dance classes or the sports team that you want to play on this fall, we cannot do that. we -- they need cash in their pockets today. for families with the least, this money will do the most dramatically reducing childhood poverty in america. and for millions of middle-class families, it will give them a little bit of breathing room every month. it is just one example of how we are building an economy from the bottom up and the middle out.

despite that progress, we cannot afford to be complacent. we know our economic recovery hinges on getting the pandemic under control. you know, and by fully vaccinating the 160 million americans were 80% of our seniors, we have fundamentally changed the course of the pandemic. one that threatens all americans with a disease that has the most severe impacts on only the unvaccinated people in the country but we cannot let up. especially since and because of the delta variant. which is more transmissible and more dangerous. unfortunately, cases are now rising particularly in communities with very low vaccination rates. just four states account for nearly 40%, four states, 40% of all cases last week. hospitalizations and deaths are

occurring among unvaccinated americans. these tragedies are avoidable. the data could not be more clear. if you are fully vaccinated, you have a high degree of protection against severe illness, hospitalization, and death. if you are unvaccinated, you are not protected. so, please, please get vaccinated. get vaccinated now. it works. it is safe. it is free. it is convenient. you know, this virus does not have to hold you back any longer. it does not have to hold our economy back any longer. the only way we can put it behind us is if more americans get vaccinated. we also know that as our economy has come roaring back, we see some price increases. some folks have raised worries that this could be a sign of persistent inflation but that is not our view. our experts believe and the data

shows that most of the price increases we have seen were expected and expected to be temporary. the reality is that you cannot flip the light back on and not expect this to happen. as demand returns, there will be mobile supply chain challenges. we have seen that in semiconductors which are used in automobiles. that global shortage has slowed vehicle production creating a temporary spike in car prices. that is a real challenge. my administration is doing everything it can to address that but again, these disruptions are temporary. -- prices. they have spike early in our recovery but in recent weeks, they have fallen by more than 60%. and the hospitality industry. prices are returning to where they used to be. economists are calling this transitory affects and they

account for about 60% of the price increases we have seen over the last few months. i want to be clear. my administration understands that if we were ever to experience unchecked inflation over the long-term, that would pose a real challenge to our economy. while we are confident that is not what we are seeing today, we remain vigilant about any response that is needed. as i made clear to chairman powell, when we met recently, the fed is independent. it should take whatever steps it deems necessary to support strong, global economic recovery but whatever different views some might have on current price increases, we should be united on one thing. passage of the bipartisan infrastructure framework which we shook hands on. we shook hands on. and my bill -- and my building back better plan will be a way to lower prices in the year

ahead. we made prudent multiyear investments in better roads, bridges, transit systems and high-speed internet. and a resilient electric grid. it breaks up the bottlenecks in our economy. goods get to consumers more rapidly and less expensively. small businesses create and innovate much more seamlessly. if we increase the availability of quality, affordable childcare, eldercare, paid leave, more people will enter the workforce. these steps will enhance our productivity. raising wages without raising prices. that won't increase inflation. it will take the pressure off of inflation. give a boost to our workforce which leads to lower prices in the years ahead. if your primary concern right now is inflation, you should be even more enthusiastic about

this plan. as we pursue fair competition and our economy through the executive order i mentioned, it will drive down prices even further. new businesses will get in the game competing against giant corporations who have been free to ramp up prices because they have not had any real competition. look, the bottom line is this, what the best companies do and what we as a country should do is make smart, sustainable investments with appropriate financing. to make this nation more productive, to advance america's leadership in clean energy, while meeting the threat of climate change. and i am sure that all working americans benefit from the growth they are helping produce. the independent experts have analyzed my plan and found that it would do just that. expand output. and enable millions of americans to enter the labor workforce.

now, just this year, not just for the next -- for decades in the future. it is not temporary. this is the best strategy to create millions of jobs and lift up middle-class families and grow wages and keep prices affordable for the long-term. what we cannot do is go back to the same old trickle-down theories that gave us nearly $2 trillion in deficit -- in deficits. and did nothing to make our economy more productive or resilient. the same people cheering on that approach are now telling us it is the problem if big companies have to compete for workers and offer them a fair wage with some dignity. i could not disagree more. we cannot go back to the old failed thinking. we need to grow the economy from the bottom up in the middle out as i said before.

the investments i am proposing our investments the american people want and the investments at our country needs and if we get this done, a wide range of independent forecasters project it will have an incredibly significant impact on gdp and jobs. good paying jobs. and the majority of these jobs will go to people without a college degree. i have said before and it is true, this is a blue-collar blueprint for building in american a con me back. simply put, we cannot afford not to make these investments. we are going to pay for them responsibly as well. our largest corporations, the very wealthiest among us, pay their fair share reforming our international tax system with a minimum tax which we have led the world to agree to. let me close with this.

when i arrived in office, it had been a long time since the government had worked for the people. things had been great for big corporations and the people at the top. those 55 major corporations that paid zero in income tax while making billions in profits, they know the plants. i took office and made a commitment, a commitment to the american people we are going to change that paradigm. so, working families could have a fighting chance again. to get a good education, to get a good job and a raise. to take care of the elderly parent or the child with a disability and still be able to go out and earn a good living. to stop losing hours of their lives stuck in traffic because the streets are crumbling or waiting for slow, spotty internet to connect with the world. that is what the economy we are building is all about. that is why we passed the

american rescue plan. and that is why we need the investment of the bipartisan infrastructure framework and my build back better plan. our economy has come a long way over the last six months. we cannot slow down now. we can make this boom we are experiencing today one that can ensure that all americans have the opportunity to share in it for years to come. and we can show the world that american democracy can deliver for the people. i look forward to continuing to build this economy. and i am incredibly opera -- optimistic about what we will be able to build together over the next six months and years to come. thank you, all, and god bless and i will take a few questions. reporter: [indiscernible] president biden: i am glad you asked me that question. one, i had just read that on the

facebook -- facebook has pointed out -- it was pointed out that facebook has pointed out the misinformation. the misinformation came from 12 individuals. i was asked that question about what do i think is happening. facebook is not killing people. these 12 people are out there giving misinformation. and anyone listening to it is getting hurt by edge. it is killing people and it is bad information. my hope is that facebook, instead of taking it personally that somehow i have said that facebook is killing people, that they would do something about this misinformation. that is what i meant. reporter: [indiscernible] >> to be completely honest with you, over the weekend, -- i don't know the answer to that question. reporter: [indiscernible] >> when i say hold accountable,

i am trying to make people look at themselves, look in the mirror and think about that misinformation going to your son and your daughter, your relatives. someone you love. that is what i am asking. reporter: [indiscernible] president biden: first of all, i think we need to find ways to -- the budget bill is an appropriate way to get around the filibuster. that is for the parliamentarian to decide and not joe biden. the first part of your question was -- reporter: [indiscernible] president biden: there is no one suggesting that there is unchecked inflation on the way.

the stock market is higher than it has been in all of history. even down this month. i don't look at the stock market as the means to judge the economy though my predecessor did but he would be talking to you every day for the last five months about how high the stock market is. higher than at any time in history. that is not how i judge whether or not we have economic growth. reporter: [indiscernible] president biden: she jumps up before you do. reporter: [indiscernible] president biden: they are still determining exactly what happened. the investigation is not finished. reporter: what is the biggest difference between [indiscernible] president biden: that would take

a longer explanation. [indiscernible] to the best of my knowledge and i'm getting a report tomorrow morning on this, my understanding is that the chinese government, not unlike the russian government, is not doing it themselves but is protecting those that are doing it and maybe even accommodating them. >> on the senate floor, minority leader mitch mcconnell expressed concern about rising inflation and pushed back on the biden administration's economic helices. amid the following remarks shortly after president biden's speech on economic recovery.